The current global financial crisis is notable for a number of reasons, including its severity, the speed with which it spread, and its remarkable international span. Essentially all industrialized countries have been affected, as well as many emerging economies. The experience has led to renewed interest in the creation of early warning models capable of predicting and hopefully mitigating the severity of future crises. For example, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn (2008) recently noted, "We at the Fund have already begun intensifying our early warning capabilities and will be strengthening our collaboration with others involved in this area."